stl82

We were in a Celebrity Suite last month on the Equinox, and also had Izzy (pronounced "Easy"). He spoke perfect English, but I don't know if he read English. He was OK, not great. Kept us supplied with large bottles of still and sparkling water (we don't drink alcohol much in the stateroom); brought us breakfast each day on time; brought, or had delivered if he was busy, cheese/meat plate every afternoon. The stateroom attendant, Arvin, was absolutely wonderful as was the Luminae staff - Jesus, Pablo, and Vinny (yes Vinny) the sommelier. 

23 hours ago, mailmama said:

The expanded room service menu is just about everything you'd want! It took me a couple of days to realize I need to clarify a few things.....such as not just checking the danish option. I had to write in just 1 roll, otherwise, I got a whole basket of danish! The french toast was fab! It was always hot and on time!

I had the same experience on the Equinox recently. I wanted an omelet, bacon, V8 juice, toast, etc., while my wife wanted 1 Danish and coffee. I just checked next to the omelet and things I wanted, but the butler thought that both of us wanted the full breakfast, and we got two of everything. So, yes, be sure to note the number wanted, not just a check mark!

40 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Just to get clarification:  Was this limit in reference to how many you personally can have on the cruise or how many were available has a total for suite guests on the cruise?

 

Thanks...

There is a limit on how many Retreat upgrade packages are available on each cruise. The concierge said on our cruise there is a limit of 10. I have no idea how many were sold.

3 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

It's $30 dinner $20 lunch and I think $10 for breakfast.   Since you are in a Royal Suite you may want to call the Shoreside Concierge and see if the $95/day rate is available to you for retreat privileges.   It's sometimes available for upper suites when a family member is traveling  in a non suite category.

I did get the Retreat Package for our daughter, who was in a veranda stateroom. $99/day, and a limit on how many are available on a cruise. The Shoreside Concierge made me aware of this when he contacted me prior to the cruise. The package allows access to Luminae, Retreat Lounge and sun deck, but no butler, drink or wi-fi packages. 

On 10/7/2022 at 5:19 PM, hrhdhd said:

Even weirder when you know what it means. 🤐

I never knew. No more shirts with pineapples on them for me!

We are in a Celebrity Suite on Equinox December 1. The Room Service menu on the app shows up-charges for the crab cake appetizer ($11), Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella Salad ($10), Ribeye and Sea Bass ($20 each). And for some reason, there is no room service menu for the last sea day. Luminae also does not show a lunch or dinner menu for the last sea day.

4 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

We just got off Infinity today and had the most amazing butler, Walter! We’re back on Infinity in February, but sadly Walter is headed to Beyond before that. 

I wonder if this is the same Walter we had on the Silhouette a fewf years ago (pre-Covid). "Our" Walter was indeed outstanding. 

I agree the price is a bit steep, but because you have never done this, I think it is worthwhile. I especially enjoyed the galley, amazing how so many meals can be prepared daily and be of good quality. The control room, bridge, I-95, recycling center, etc. all very interesting.

There are several threads on this board about which power strips are OK, and which are not. Do a search on "power strip" and you will get a lot of information.

36 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

Check-in used to be 45 days prior, its now 30 days, if you check-in early on the day of you can get any embarkation time you want !

I checked in for a December 1 Equinox cruise on October 17, 45 days prior. Maybe 30 days prior is a new change? I know luggage tags are available 30 days out.

8 hours ago, TXGREG said:

Equinox has hump cabins. I booked one for the May 4th ABC cruise.

 

The deck plan was completely wrong - stateroom numbers didn't match with deck plan on Celebrity site, deck names were different, elevators were in different locations, etc. It was just the wrong plan. When I checked today, the correct Equinox deck plan is now displayed on the travel agent website. So I guess it was just a temporary issue. Not a big deal, but I was surprised yesterday when I saw the wrong deck plan displayed.

53 minutes ago, Loracpin2 said:

I always use the "travel website" for the Big Box store so many of us shop at.!!!

I went to the site I think was being referred to here and checked my December 1 Equinox cruise. The deck plan on the site for some ship other than the Equinox, looks like one of the Royal Caribbean ships with the "hump" staterooms.

Interesting discussion. I did not realize the actual purpose of this space. It was never locked and usually it was unoccupied when I walked through. At most, one or two people were there.

5 minutes ago, kwis29 said:

You should see a bunch of pictures in my last post. Please let me know if they don't appear. And ignore that random repeated pic at the end. It refuses to be deleted!

The pictures are displayed without problems.

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I think that there are more then on Hyatt Place hotels.  If so, to which are you referring.  Thanks.

Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port on SE 10th Ave.

16 hours ago, lakegirl16 said:

Thanks everyone.  I don't see it under the internet options for my cruise.  Maybe too early, since the cruise is December?

On my planner for December 1 Equinox, it is under Onboard Activities - last option to right on planner screnn.

Thanks for the various comments. Sorry the Embassy Suites has deteriorated. Based on what I read here, we opted for Hyatt Place. They have a pretty good rate for a one-night stay + 7 days parking, additional parking $7/day. Since we are driving from Ocala, the parking is important - Hilton is $48/day.

Seems like the celebrations are quite mixed. A couple of years ago (pre-Covid) we were on the Silhouette on my wife's birthday in a Celebrity Suite. The Host and Room Attendant put a large Happy Birthday sign up on the bedroom wall and scattered a bunch of balloons around. I think we also got a small cake. I do know she got a birthday cake when we celebrated in Murano that evening.

We stayed there many times, most recently a couple of years ago (pre-Covid). It is a typical Embassy Suites. At that time, it was in excellent condition. They had the evening cocktails (not sure if that is being offered again) and the free breakfast. We parked our car there while on the cruises; I don't recall the price. Used Uber to the port. I am glad we did as there were lots of people waiting for a shuttle. We also stayed there a couple of times when we returned. We live in Ocala and didn't want to make the five-hour drive after getting off the ship.

Sorry my information is a bit dated, but I would stay there again based on previous visits.

Don't park your car under the trees by the front entrance. Birds will do a number on it!

Also, there is not much around it so if you want to go out for dinner or drinks, you will need to drive or Uber.

Thanks for the information, JIm and DaKuhuna.

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

For power I use one of those mini power packs.    It hold enough power for about 18 hours or more depending on size.

Jim, what particular power pack do you use? I am not familiar with them at all.

The joke above about UPS, etc. reminded me of this old one:

United Airlines pilot to control tower: Tower, this is United flight 1234. Would you please confirm the time?

Tower to United 1234: United 1234, it is 10:22 and 24 seconds AM.

Southwest pilot to control town: Tower, this is Southwest 456. Would you please confirm the time?

Tower: Southwest 456, it is about 20 minutes after 10.

TWA pilot to control tower: Tower this is TWA 2345. Would you please confirm the time?

Tower: It's Tuesday.

Jeremiah1212, thank you for the information. Travel agent was able to reduce cost for 11 day Equinox cruise late next year by $1000 for my wife and me.

In-depth investigation of cruise ships and lines as related to Covid-19. Not sure if this is accessible to non-subscribers.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cruise-ships-set-sail-knowing-the-deadly-risk-to-passengers-and-crew-11588346502?mod=hp_lead_pos5

17 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I’ve heard in the past that staff stay on the ship to help with the dry dock. Just wonder if this is true, ie will Cruise Director Sue  Denning be onboard as her contract is usually 4 months, but she has not quite completed 2 months.

We were on Silhouette a few weeks ago and were told by several staff members that some take vacations while others stay on board to provide various services, like the fire watch Esprit mentioned. Others are needed to prepare and serve food to those doing the work and provide other services required. I didn't get a sense as to how many of the crew stayed on board, nor do I recall Sue mentioning if she would stay on or not.